"How Early Is Early?" or "How Late Is Late?": Thinking through Some Issues in Early Intervention

Mercieca, Daniela; Mercieca, Duncan P.

Educational Philosophy and Theory, v46 n8 p845-859 2014

Early intervention comes in-between the lives of children, families and teachers. This article uses part of a report written by an educational psychologist about a little girl to question the nature of intervention through Rancière's writings. As children and parents are seen as put into the position of inadequacy, they require such intervention, which in turn makes them more inadequate. The article goes on to highlight the numerous "givings" involved in early intervention, through Derrida's writing. However, such giving is questioned as creating expectations that receivers of the gift must fulfil, thus nullifying the gift. The conclusion suggests that starting from a perspective of equality and acknowledging the aporia involved could help the people in this scenario to take a different approach.